Sarah James
Play-based • Caring • Verified
About
Meet Sarah James — approach, credentials, and teaching style.
Philosophy
I believe that a love of learning begins in early childhood. Setting up children to enjoy the learning process at a young age is the most valuable gift we can give them. I strive to foster a love of learning in my students through intentional and hands-on learning opportunities. Children develop confidence, curiosity, and the ability to take initiative through play-based learning. In a one-on-one learning environment, play-based learning can look like a variety of things. Through conversation and relationship building, I aim to help children gain self-confidence. I believe that children thrive when they feel safe and comfortable in their learning environment and part of that is building trust with me. I strive to build personal connections with all my students: not only so they feel comfortable with me but also so that I can tailor activities to their interests. This is a crucial part of making play-based learning engaging and successful. By using each child’s individual interests to inspire the activities and learning opportunities, this allows the child to guide their own learning experience. This builds confidence in their learning abilities by allowing them to feel successful and excited about what they are learning. I utilize a variety of educational philosophies to inspire my teaching practices as I believe that every child’s needs and learning style is slightly different. I like to take inspiration from both Reggio Emilia and Montessori philosophy to help tailor the play-based learning for each child and their needs. I can’t wait to meet your children and help them develop to their fullest potential.
Credentials
- 5–9 years of experience working with children
- MEd. Early Childhood Education
Methods
- Play-based learning
- Hands-on learning
- Relationship-based teaching
- Child-led learning
- Interest-based instruction
- Confidence-building pedagogy
- Montessori-inspired learning
- Reggio Emilia-inspired learning
Age Ranges
Areas
Encino, CA • Sherman Oaks, CA • Studio City, CA • Tarzana, CA • Los Angeles, CA • Burbank, CA • North Hollywood, CA • Thousand Oak, CA
Photos
Videos
Articles
Tips and guidance from Sarah James.
Give us a call and we’ll help you get set up.
Packages
15 Minutes Intro CallHomework Support
DiscountIn these sessions I will help your child understand and work through homework assignments or reviews previous work/tests to help fill in knowledge gaps. The goal is to help your child catch up if they have fallen behind or just need a little extra help to grasp a concept
Early Math Learning
Every child has a unique way of learning. With this package I will design an engaging math program specifically for your child's learning style. Whether your child is struggling to keep up with math at school or wants to get ahead, I will design a program to get them engaged and excited about math learning.
Early Literacy Support
I believe that literacy begins as early as in the womb. The more we foster early literacy the better foundation we can help each child form for future literacy skills. In this package, I design a literacy program specifically to target your child's needs and interests.
Math in the Real World
Math is all around us and an understanding of math concepts and problem solving skills is necessary for any career path. This package is designed to guide children through a journey of exploring how math can help them be anything they want to be. Based on the interests of each child we can explore a number of topics including: business, sports, fashion and more. This package can be used over the course of a few months or as an immersive experience over 2-3 weeks.
Summer Catch-Up
For many children, summer can feel like a very long gap in the learning process. This program is designed to help solidify what was learned during the school year and fill in any gaps to make sure they are ready to hit the ground running in the new school year.